The Civil War ended on 9 April 1865 with the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox, Virginia. Five days later Abraham Lincoln went to the theater to watch the play "Our American Cousin." While Lincoln was at the theater, John Wilkes Booth crept into the president's box and shot him in the back of the head. At the same time, in the home of Secretary of State William H. Seward, another man pushed his way into the house and tried to stab the secretary to death. Although wounded, Seward survived, but Lincoln died the next day. Booth escaped to the Virginia countryside and was on the loose for twelve days. Booth and fellow conspirator David Herold were tracked down on 26 April to a barn where Booth was shot and killed. But the story of the Lincoln assassination does not end with Booth's death. Eight other people were charged with conspiracy and tried by a military commission: George Atzerodt, David Herold, Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, Samuel Arnold, Edman Spangler, Michael O'Laughlin, and Dr. Samuel Mudd. All eight prisoners were found guilty and Atzerodt, Herold, Powell, and Surratt were sentenced to death. The other conspirators received prison sentences ranging from six years to life. The hangings of the four prisoners sentenced to death took place on 7 July 1865.
From the description of Lincoln conspirators collection, 1865-1997. (Indiana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 56575618
